CerraCap Impact Venture Capital (CIVC) has announced an investment in Bandelier Technologies, a New Mexico-based deep-tech company developing memory-free quantum radar, sensing, and advanced metasurface antenna systems for national security, space-domain awareness, and resilient communications. The investment reinforces CIVC’s focus on national security and advanced computing while expanding its portfolio of mission-critical dual-use technologies.
Bandelier is translating breakthroughs from national laboratories into field-ready systems designed for contested environments, where legacy platforms can be too heavy, fragmented, or detectable. Its quantum radar platform is based on photonic techniques developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and is engineered for long-range, low-signature sensing and imaging without requiring quantum memory. The architecture is designed to support scalability and deployment readiness. In addition, Bandelier develops electronically steerable metasurface antennas for defense, aerospace, and next-generation communications applications.
The company has received external validation across multiple national security channels. Bandelier was selected for New Mexico LEEP Cohort 5, where fellows collaborate with Los Alamos scientists to advance national security innovations. Los Alamos National Laboratory identified Bandelier’s work as redefining long-range quantum sensing for defense, space, and secure communications. The company has also been assessed “Awardable” in the DARPA ERIS Marketplace, a rapid acquisition pathway for government buyers, and was selected as a prime awardee on the Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD contract vehicle supporting the Golden Dome missile defense mission after previously advancing into SHIELD’s competitive range.
CIVC was formed in December 2025 as a venture platform designed to accelerate enterprise and government adoption for companies operating in complex sectors such as national security and advanced computing. The platform combines CerraCap Venture’s Sales & Scale™ commercialization engine with Impact Venture Capital’s Corporate Intelligence Platform™ to support commercial validation, enterprise adoption, and strategic outcomes.
KEY QUOTES
“People often say they invest in the horse or the jockey. With Stephen, we saw the combination of both a founder with rare mission discipline and a platform built to matter. Before pursuing his MBA from Harvard Business School, Stephen spent ten years as a Green Beret in U.S. Army Special Forces and worked as a CPA earlier in his career. This pedigree gives Bandelier a uniquely strong bridge between technical rigor, operational credibility, and commercialization execution. That combination is exactly what is required to work effectively with the New Mexico national lab ecosystem and transition breakthrough quantum sensing into deployable defense and commercial systems. CerraCap Impact moved with conviction because this is the kind of company that can define a category.”
Abhi Mukherjee, Partner at CerraCap Impact Venture Capital
“When I first met Abhi, he told me CerraCap would be the first check in, and he delivered exactly as promised. That kind of conviction and follow-through matters, especially when you are building deep, physics-driven technology for national security. Our round was oversubscribed, and we intentionally chose CerraCap to help anchor it because they bring more than capital: they bring strategic reach, real commercialization muscle, and a long-term mindset for turning frontier science into mission-ready capability. CerraCap is the kind of partner we need for the road ahead.”
Stephen Buchanan, Founder And CEO of Bandelier Technologies
